This Boy Had Seven Days to Live - The Next 90 Minutes Saved His Life

Ismail Jeilani
Entrepreneur, Teacher and Writer: doing cool things like working for Google, building startups and changing the world.

Friday 29th July 2016, 9:53pm. Phones began buzzing about the story of Ahmad, a boy from a refugee camp in Jordan.

Ahmad's family tried to live a normal life in Aleppo; even opening a shop in the city. They then moved to Lebanon after it was bombed. Here, they experienced much humiliation, which led them to relocating once more. This time, to Jordan. Their journey across 3 countries detached them entirely from their family in Aleppo, whom they have not had contact with for over 2 months. This journey was even more difficult with the worry of their youngest child, Ahmad. At only 4 months old, Ahmad suffered from an illness that prevents the oxygen in the blood from circulating the body properly.

"As a medical student, I asked his father if his fingers turned blue when this happens. He replied, with great strength in his voice, that his entire body turns blue. We were dumbfounded. They would take him outside in the sun to help his body return to its normal skin colour." Enam Ahmod, a volunteer who met Ahmad and his family.

Doctors had to pierce a hole in his heart to try and help the blood circulate. But even this wasn't enough. If Ahmad did not undergo an operation in the coming 7 days, the implications would have been fatal.

This story moved volunteers who arrived to provide aid in a Jordanian refugee camp. The operation required to save Ahmad would cost over £10,000. For a small group of students and young professionals, this was a difficult task. For a refugee family, this was near impossible.

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Volunteers at the camp were touched. Hearts cried at the story of a boy they wanted to help. They set 24 hours as their target to raise the funds needed for the operation.